WATCH: Scottish knockout monster Nico Carrillo overcomes near finish and knocks out legendary Nong-O

Scottish knockout artist Nico Carrillo has had an impressive run in ONE Championship but not without its share of adversities. One of which was against former bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama, where he had to dig deep to avert a near finish and win.

The two met back in December at ONE Friday Fights 46, with the Thai legend inflicting early damage and nearly finishing the 'King of the North' with thunderous kicks and solid punches. But Carrillo stayed the course and stood against the barrage of strikes of Nong-O, connecting on a lethal elbow shot in the second round that sent his opponent to the canvas lights out.

ONE Championship relived the fiery encounter between Carrillo and Nong-O at ONE Friday Fights 46 in an Instagram post ahead of the Glasgow native's scheduled title bid in January 2025.

Check out the video below:

The win over Nong-O was one of four victories, which came all by way of KO, that Nico Carrillo has in ONE since making his promotional debut in April last year.

It is a streak he is out to continue when he vies for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title against reigning champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

The event will be aired live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Nico Carrillo believes he deserves world title shot

Not that he needed to further highlight his standing as a world title contender following four impressive KO victories but Nico Carrillo asserted that he is deserving of a shot at the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai gold.

The 'King of the North' is set to challenge reigning bantamweight king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 170 on Jan. 24. It is an opportunity he said he had earned as early as December last year when he knocked out Thai legend and former world champion Nong-O Hama.

Speaking to Leather'd Podcast in an interview, Nico Carrillo shared his thoughts on his scheduled title bid, saying:

"I was meant to be next in line anyway after I beat Nong-O. And then Superlek wasn't even at 145, he's at 135, and he just jumped the queue and just fought for the title. But fair enough because he's then won it. He kncoked Haggerty out in 50 seconds."

Watch the interview below:

At ONE 170, Superlek will be defending the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title for the first time after his impressive 49-second KO of erstwhile champion Jonathan Haggerty in their title clash on September in the United States.